10 More Insane Lies Told On Video Game Box Art

8. OutRun (ZX Spectrum) - A Huge Visual Downgrade

Hulk Hogan Main Event
Sega

Cramming Yu Suzuki's slice of open-topped dolce vita, OutRun, onto the humble ZX Spectrum, a computer which matched its contemporaries' power like a shrew standing up to a tiger, was an accomplishment in and of itself. Additional embellishment was hardly necessary to sell the game to owner's of Clive Sinclair's rainbow-sashed system; just having the opportunity to play it on the computer at all was reason enough for excitement.

So Speccie owners must have blown their metaphorical open-tops when they saw what was on offer for them, at least according to the reverse of the US Gold published box. It was still about a hundred colours and several million scaling calculations away from being anything like its arcade source, but look! A foreground tree! More than four sprites! A vague suggestion of 3D!

The breezy dream came to a crashing halt when the tape hit the deck. Though the game was a notable visual downgrade on what was advertised, it was still OutRun on the Spectrum, and that was worth driving home for.

 
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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.